11 July 2025 : At the end of Gautam Gambhir’s last Test series as India coach, all hell broke loose. After India lost 1-3 in Australia to squander the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after eight years, matters spiralled out of control, with dressing room chats getting leaked and stricter rules being put in place. The BCCI implemented a 10-point diktat after India’s humbling defeat Down Under, which included restrictions on a lot of things. Activities such as not travelling with the team, restrictions on baggage, and personal staff became mandatory, as did the requirement to play domestic cricket. The impact of this policy was such that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who had not played domestic cricket for ages, turned up for their state teams of Delhi and Mumbai, respectively.
However, the one diktat that emerged as the biggest talking point was the restrictions on family travel. Players were not allowed to leave or reach the team hotels with their family members, and as part of the longer picture, they could be with their family members – spouses/children only in tours lasting more than 45 days, with several more details.
If reports were to be believed, this did not sit well with some of the players. In fact, during the announcement of India’s squad for the Champions Trophy, ODI captain Rohit even slipped out that players were unhappy, now knowing that the microphone was on.
“Ab to aur ek dedh ghanta baithna padega iske baad. Secretary ke saath baithna padega thoda discuss karne keliye. Ye sab cheez family wamily ka ye wo. Ab sab mereko bol rahe hai ki yaar…” Rohit quietly told the BCCI chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, their conversation fading as he turned to acknowledge someone else. It means: “Now I have to sit another hour, hour-and-a-half after this. Will have to sit down with the secretary to discuss a few things. About the family and other stuff. Now everyone is telling me…”
Gambhir, in particular, faced a lot of backlash, as if he were the one responsible for it. Finally breaking his silence on the matter, Gambhir acknowledged the importance of family on tours, but stressed that a balance must be maintained.
“Families are important, but you’ve got to understand one thing. You are here for a purpose. It’s not a holiday. You’re here for a huge purpose. You’ve got very few people in that dressing room or on this tour who get this opportunity to make the country proud. So yes, I’m not against not having families with us,” Gambhir told Cheteshwar Pujara before the start of the 3rd India vs England Test at Lord’s on the Sony Sports Network.
“It is important to have families, but if your focus is towards making our country proud and you have a much bigger role than any other thing, and you’re committed to that goal, you’re committed to that cause, I think everything else is fine. But for me, I think that cause and that goal are more important than any other thing.”
What Virat Kohli said about having family on tours
This policy was one that didn’t please Kohli either. During the IPL, Kohli at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit, said: “It’s very difficult to explain to people how grounding it is to just come back to your family every time you have something which is intense, which happens on the outside. I don’t think people have an understanding of what value it brings to a large extent. And I feel quite disappointed about that because it’s like people who have no control over what’s going on are kind of brought into conversations and put out at the forefront that, ‘oh, maybe they need to be kept away’.”
Summary:
India coach Gautam Gambhir backed the BCCI’s new policy limiting family time on tours, stating players are on duty—not vacation—and must prioritise national goals despite Kohli and Sharma’s concerns.